Gail Kuwahara: Be Responsible To Yourself And Others, And Vaccinate – September 24, 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012

As the school year begins and students are returning to classes, the question many parents are asking is, what vaccines does my child need? In the past few years these requirements have changed. It is not just kindergarten students who need shots, but also students entering seventh grade and college students.

With the passage of Assembly Bill AB354, all children entering seventh to 12th grade are required to receive a Tdap booster in 2011,. In 2012, all children entering seventh grade are now required to get a Tdap booster (and older students if they missed last year). Tdap is the only immunization available in the United States that protects individuals over the age of 10 against pertussis.

Pertussis, more commonly known as Whooping Cough is a serious disease that can be fatal to infants. This year alone there have been 1,154 hospitalizations in the state of California, three-quarters being infants younger than six months of age. Thirteen deaths attributable to pertussis occurred in 2011, most were in infants not old enough to receive the vaccine.

It is important that anyone who is anticipating contact with an infant under the age of six months be vaccinated for this disease to protect the infant from exposure. In teenagers and adults the illness can include a long convalescence and loss of time from school or work.

It is estimated that one case of undiagnosed pertussis can infect up to 17 other people and that 80 percent of all households will be affected by this disease unless family members get vaccinated.

While August and September are the peak season for outbreaks of Whooping Cough in our area, according to Humboldt County there have not been any reported cases in the county so far this year. Pertussis is a viral illness which starts with cold symptoms, mild cough, runny nose and fever which can last up to two weeks. The infected person is most contagious during this time.

The illness progresses to a severe prolonged cough with the classic whooping sound at the end for which it is named; this stage can last up to three months. It is possible that we can attribute the fact that we have not had any reported cases this year to the efforts of the county health department and our local medical providers to get our population vaccinated last year.

Students starting college this year should also receive a Meningitis vaccination. For many of these young adults it is their first time in a group living situation. Residence hall living some newfound freedoms, like kissing, not getting enough sleep, being exposed to smoke, sharing utensils, glasses and water bottles and being in crowed situations for prolonged periods of time put students at risk of contracting this serious illness.

Meningitis is a devastating viral illness that can progress from no symptoms at all to death or disability in just a single day. Meningitis can present with swelling of the brain or spinal cord or as a blood infection. It is difficult to recognize in the early stages because symptoms are very similar to other viral illnesses. About 10 percent of all Americans who get this disease will die from it, while 20 percent who survive the illness are left with serious medical problems including amputation of arms, legs, fingers and toes, brain damage, deafness or kidney damage.

All students should get an influenza vaccine to protect them from this common illness. The CDC has recommended early vaccination this year and it should be available in most medical offices, pharmacies and the health department now. Influenza (the flu as it is more commonly called) can cause mild to severe illness and is easily prevented by vaccination.

Signs and symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue. It is spread by droplets so always cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing to prevent spreading the disease to others.

Parents please remember this is an exciting time for your child whether they are one of the “big kids now” entering middle school or a young adult heading off to college and getting their first big taste of independence. It is important to keep them safe from illness. Vaccinations are the best defense.

Finally, this is a time of changes for your child and getting established with a local medical provider will give them an opportunity seek needed treatment and discuss physical, emotional and social concerns. A medical provider can be more than someone to visit when you are sick. They can help your child make appropriate health and life style decisions that your child may not feel comfortable talking to teachers or parents about.

Establishing a relationship with a medical provider can assure that your child will continue to make healthy decisions long into the future.

Gail Kuwahara is a mother of four, grandmother of six and has worked at Open Door for 13 years.

214 Responses to “Gail Kuwahara: Be Responsible To Yourself And Others, And Vaccinate – September 24, 2012”

We here in Humboldt are proud of our community's choice to NOT vaccinate our children. We have studied all the info and made an educated choice for our children. I'm not going to go into a big debate but understand this is an informed choice and part of our culture. Home births, organic and free range eating, not immunizing , not going to traditional doctors is all part of our back to the land movement. Its not going anywhere so accept it.

We here in Humboldt are proud of our community's choice to NOT vaccinate our children. We have studied all the info and made an educated choice for our children. I'm not going to go into a big debate but understand this is an informed choice and part of our culture. Home births, organic and free range eating, not immunizing , not going to traditional doctors is all part of our back to the land movement. Its not going anywhere so accept it.

We here in Humboldt are proud of our community's choice to NOT vaccinate our children. We have studied all the info and made an educated choice for our children. I'm not going to go into a big debate but understand this is an informed choice and part of our culture. Home births, organic and free range eating, not immunizing , not going to traditional doctors is all part of our back to the land movement. Its not going anywhere so accept it.

We here in Humboldt are proud of our community's choice to NOT vaccinate our children. We have studied all the info and made an educated choice for our children. I'm not going to go into a big debate but understand this is an informed choice and part of our culture. Home births, organic and free range eating, not immunizing , not going to traditional doctors is all part of our back to the land movement. Its not going anywhere so accept it.

We here in Humboldt are proud of our community's choice to NOT vaccinate our children. We have studied all the info and made an educated choice for our children. I'm not going to go into a big debate but understand this is an informed choice and part of our culture. Home births, organic and free range eating, not immunizing , not going to traditional doctors is all part of our back to the land movement. Its not going anywhere so accept it.

A broken arm yes, wooping cough ,no. I have know a few people whos kids have had it and beat naturally. Its only really dangerous in very young infants. Some people die of flu so now they say that the flu shot is a must, Now they want you to get chicken pox shots, hpv shots. Where to you draw the line? How many shots is enough? I have 2 kids, one is a teen one is 6. Neither one has ever been to the doctor and have rarely gotten sick. This is because they have strong natural immunity from not ever taking shots, antibiotics or over the counter fever reducers.All those thing compromise the immune systems natural function. There is tons of science supporting either side of the debate and Im not gonna start posting links,adI dont want to convince you not to give your kids shots, I just wanted to state that most parents who choose not to, do so after much study, its not some uninformed choice Its funny that this article is from open door clinic and thats where I have gone and my doctor who works there does not give her kids shots either. Once you meet a parent who has suffered the loss of a child within 24 hours of vaccines being givin as I have, you will think twice before going that route.

A broken arm yes, wooping cough ,no. I have know a few people whos kids have had it and beat naturally. Its only really dangerous in very young infants. Some people die of flu so now they say that the flu shot is a must, Now they want you to get chicken pox shots, hpv shots. Where to you draw the line? How many shots is enough? I have 2 kids, one is a teen one is 6. Neither one has ever been to the doctor and have rarely gotten sick. This is because they have strong natural immunity from not ever taking shots, antibiotics or over the counter fever reducers.All those thing compromise the immune systems natural function. There is tons of science supporting either side of the debate and Im not gonna start posting links,adI dont want to convince you not to give your kids shots, I just wanted to state that most parents who choose not to, do so after much study, its not some uninformed choice Its funny that this article is from open door clinic and thats where I have gone and my doctor who works there does not give her kids shots either. Once you meet a parent who has suffered the loss of a child within 24 hours of vaccines being givin as I have, you will think twice before going that route.

A broken arm yes, wooping cough ,no. I have know a few people whos kids have had it and beat naturally. Its only really dangerous in very young infants. Some people die of flu so now they say that the flu shot is a must, Now they want you to get chicken pox shots, hpv shots. Where to you draw the line? How many shots is enough? I have 2 kids, one is a teen one is 6. Neither one has ever been to the doctor and have rarely gotten sick. This is because they have strong natural immunity from not ever taking shots, antibiotics or over the counter fever reducers.All those thing compromise the immune systems natural function. There is tons of science supporting either side of the debate and Im not gonna start posting links,adI dont want to convince you not to give your kids shots, I just wanted to state that most parents who choose not to, do so after much study, its not some uninformed choice Its funny that this article is from open door clinic and thats where I have gone and my doctor who works there does not give her kids shots either. Once you meet a parent who has suffered the loss of a child within 24 hours of vaccines being givin as I have, you will think twice before going that route.

A broken arm yes, wooping cough ,no. I have know a few people whos kids have had it and beat naturally. Its only really dangerous in very young infants. Some people die of flu so now they say that the flu shot is a must, Now they want you to get chicken pox shots, hpv shots. Where to you draw the line? How many shots is enough? I have 2 kids, one is a teen one is 6. Neither one has ever been to the doctor and have rarely gotten sick. This is because they have strong natural immunity from not ever taking shots, antibiotics or over the counter fever reducers.All those thing compromise the immune systems natural function. There is tons of science supporting either side of the debate and Im not gonna start posting links,adI dont want to convince you not to give your kids shots, I just wanted to state that most parents who choose not to, do so after much study, its not some uninformed choice Its funny that this article is from open door clinic and thats where I have gone and my doctor who works there does not give her kids shots either. Once you meet a parent who has suffered the loss of a child within 24 hours of vaccines being givin as I have, you will think twice before going that route.

A broken arm yes, wooping cough ,no. I have know a few people whos kids have had it and beat naturally. Its only really dangerous in very young infants. Some people die of flu so now they say that the flu shot is a must, Now they want you to get chicken pox shots, hpv shots. Where to you draw the line? How many shots is enough? I have 2 kids, one is a teen one is 6. Neither one has ever been to the doctor and have rarely gotten sick. This is because they have strong natural immunity from not ever taking shots, antibiotics or over the counter fever reducers.All those thing compromise the immune systems natural function. There is tons of science supporting either side of the debate and Im not gonna start posting links,adI dont want to convince you not to give your kids shots, I just wanted to state that most parents who choose not to, do so after much study, its not some uninformed choice Its funny that this article is from open door clinic and thats where I have gone and my doctor who works there does not give her kids shots either. Once you meet a parent who has suffered the loss of a child within 24 hours of vaccines being givin as I have, you will think twice before going that route.

Look Kevin, I dont wanna debate you, Those of us with older kids already did this topic when the kids were little and we made our choice and are sticking with it. My kids have gone to multiple schools in the county with very low vaccination rates and no wooping cough has ever broken out and if it were ever to happen, im confident we could beat it. You do know you can get it even if you are vaccinated? its not 100% effective.The vaccine industry is a multi billion dollar a year industry and they hire their own scientists and produce there own results. Even those who deny global warming have scientist who will back them. There are scientists who say immunization is dangerous or ineffective. My main reason to post was just to say, we who choose not to immunize do so with a clear understanding of the risks and benefits and that we are doing what we think is best for those we love dearly. take care.

Look Kevin, I dont wanna debate you, Those of us with older kids already did this topic when the kids were little and we made our choice and are sticking with it. My kids have gone to multiple schools in the county with very low vaccination rates and no wooping cough has ever broken out and if it were ever to happen, im confident we could beat it. You do know you can get it even if you are vaccinated? its not 100% effective.The vaccine industry is a multi billion dollar a year industry and they hire their own scientists and produce there own results. Even those who deny global warming have scientist who will back them. There are scientists who say immunization is dangerous or ineffective. My main reason to post was just to say, we who choose not to immunize do so with a clear understanding of the risks and benefits and that we are doing what we think is best for those we love dearly. take care.

Look Kevin, I dont wanna debate you, Those of us with older kids already did this topic when the kids were little and we made our choice and are sticking with it. My kids have gone to multiple schools in the county with very low vaccination rates and no wooping cough has ever broken out and if it were ever to happen, im confident we could beat it. You do know you can get it even if you are vaccinated? its not 100% effective.The vaccine industry is a multi billion dollar a year industry and they hire their own scientists and produce there own results. Even those who deny global warming have scientist who will back them. There are scientists who say immunization is dangerous or ineffective. My main reason to post was just to say, we who choose not to immunize do so with a clear understanding of the risks and benefits and that we are doing what we think is best for those we love dearly. take care.

Look Kevin, I dont wanna debate you, Those of us with older kids already did this topic when the kids were little and we made our choice and are sticking with it. My kids have gone to multiple schools in the county with very low vaccination rates and no wooping cough has ever broken out and if it were ever to happen, im confident we could beat it. You do know you can get it even if you are vaccinated? its not 100% effective.The vaccine industry is a multi billion dollar a year industry and they hire their own scientists and produce there own results. Even those who deny global warming have scientist who will back them. There are scientists who say immunization is dangerous or ineffective. My main reason to post was just to say, we who choose not to immunize do so with a clear understanding of the risks and benefits and that we are doing what we think is best for those we love dearly. take care.

Look Kevin, I dont wanna debate you, Those of us with older kids already did this topic when the kids were little and we made our choice and are sticking with it. My kids have gone to multiple schools in the county with very low vaccination rates and no wooping cough has ever broken out and if it were ever to happen, im confident we could beat it. You do know you can get it even if you are vaccinated? its not 100% effective.The vaccine industry is a multi billion dollar a year industry and they hire their own scientists and produce there own results. Even those who deny global warming have scientist who will back them. There are scientists who say immunization is dangerous or ineffective. My main reason to post was just to say, we who choose not to immunize do so with a clear understanding of the risks and benefits and that we are doing what we think is best for those we love dearly. take care.